Operating Features of Assisted Hollow Electrode Discharge During Electron-Beam Evaporation of Aluminum in Oxygen in the Fore-Vacuum Pressure Range

We give the characteristics of a hollow electrode discharge in oxygen in the presence of plasma created by an electron beam in the vicinity of the hollow entrance. Electron beam evaporates aluminum, which deposits onto substrate, placed in hollow electrode. Discharge in hollow electrode produced its own plasma, which interacts with deposited aluminum and accelerates the oxidation reaction of aluminum. It is shown that the discharge in the hollow can either stimulate or suppress the oxidation reaction of aluminum evaporated by the electron beam.